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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. squash — the sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. root — of a word
  5. cue — a hint
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rash — a series
  8. club — a group
  9. rash — hasty
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cue — for pool
  12. game — a match
  13. root — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — in sport
  18. root — the cause
  19. season — of the year
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — a signal
  23. club — for golf
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com